Bug Out 65

My wife, son, and I made the trip up I-95 to Bug Out 65 in Manassas, Virginia this morning. This used to be billed as the "largest Volkswagen show on the East Coast" but now simply carries the tagline, "East Coast's Premier VW Volkswagen Show." (And truth be told I think that's a bit of a stretch.) Since I started going in 1998 I've only missed one Memorial Day show but I think unless something changes this may very well be the last one I attend.

There were some very nice show cars on display and a few that really stood out. Aside from that however it was pretty much the same thing I've seen every year. Although I guess after a while it's hard to really be unique or creative when pretty much everything has been done it seems.

In years past there would be numerous show cars along with a large number of vendors with both new and used parts. While I always enjoy looking at the cars entered in the show I usually spent more time walking among the various venders and swappers looking for this, that, and the other. It was rare in previous years that I didn't come home with some coveted treasure. This year however the new vendors were almost non-existant and the swap meet area was considerably smaller than in the past. My wife had hoped to find a t-shirt or two for my son but there were only two apparel vendors and neither one of them carried anything child-sized.

Overall it was a disappointment and wasn't really worth the drive up there. I hope things turn around and the show is able to grow larger again.